1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of providing a graphical user interface. The present invention also relates to a system for providing a graphical user interface. The present invention further relates to an apparatus, for example a document-processing apparatus. The present invention also relates to a computer program.
2. Description of Background Art
Respective examples of such a method, system and apparatus are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,230 discloses a system for manipulating image fragments so that image-processing devices such as copiers, fax machines and scanners may efficiently process oversize images. A configuration for a preferred embodiment includes a scanner, memory, CPU (Central Processing Unit), touch screen and printer. Illustrated steps form a loop that describes the steps a user performs to manipulate image fragments. At a first step, the user selects an image fragment on the display screen. Many forms of input may be used to perform the step. A preferred embodiment uses a touch screen so that the user may point to or touch areas of the display screen directly with their fingers or some other object such as a stylus. Next, a step is performed so that the user can move the selected fragment to a new position on the display screen. Where a touch screen is used, the user may point to a new position for the fragment or may “drag” the fragment about the screen by pointing while moving the position of the finger on the screen. When the user has moved the selected fragment to a desired position, the user executes a subsequent step so that the selected fragment is released or “dropped” to assume its new position on the display screen.
A disadvantage of the known method is that it requires that multiple user commands be processed, namely those to move the image fragment, and those to drop the fragment. This generally requires processing interrupts from the input device. The situation is aggravated in the variant in which fragments are dragged, as there is a relatively high danger of “losing” the fragment as the finger or stylus is moved across the touch screen.